Kobo ereader Bluetooth flaw undermines wireless use

Kobo's $150 ereader isn't expected to arrive at Borders in the US until June 17th, so hopefully that will give the manufacturer a little time to finesse the firmware. According to one thread over at MobileRead, the Kobo's much-touted Bluetooth connectivity - allowing for short-range, cable-free transfers of ebooks to the device - has a significant flaw in that it won't update its books list after wireless use. Ironically, the only way at present to force an update is to plug in a USB cable and unplug it.

That USB cable can either be the PC connection - basically causing the Kobo to be mounted as an external drive and then unmounted - or the mains adapter. Considering Bluetooth is meant to cut out the number of cables you carry around, it's a frustrating shortcoming.

What makes it particularly annoying is that you can apparently send ebook files to the Kobo from an Android smartphone, opening up the possibility of downloading new titles on your phone and manually transferring them across. Not quite as slick as the integrated 3G in a Kindle or nook, perhaps, but cheaper and with more flexibility as to where you download your ebooks from.